10 May 2019

Dear Member

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS NOTICE – 1 June 2019 to 31 May 2020

The Clubs’ Financial Year End will be on us shortly, and this entails important processes of review, budgeting and planning in all sporting codes, within the Executive Committee portfolios and by our Management team and staff.

The Pakistan and Sri Lankan cricket teams visited South Africa during the season. Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly apparent that – from a financial performance perspective – inbound tours by teams other than England, Australia and India provide muted results. This has a significant impact on the overall financial performance of the Club, as the cricket season at Newlands is a significant component of the overall financial performance of the Club, via the Long Room and the Oaks Bar. The Mzansi Super League provided some respite, but this has been outweighed by disappointing attendance for the domestic one-day and T20 competitions. This is not Cape Town specific, but has been seen throughout the country.

England is due to visit our shores at the end of this year, and we look forward to the New Year’s Test with anticipation. Despite the general disappointment of the inbound cricket season, we have had a successful year in most other aspects of the Club’s finances. The installation of the water de-ironising system has been completed, and occurred just before significant increases in water rates were implemented by the City. We now run de-ironised water for the showers and toilets throughout the Club, as well as for the watering systems on the astros. We continue to use potable water for the kitchens and water fountains.

The Notice of the AGM, scheduled for Thursday, 29 August 2019 and the Annual Report for 2018/2019 will be distributed by the end of July 2019, detailing the Clubs’ financial position and current business strategies.

We had strong performances from both the Bowls and the Sports Centre bar, which offset the muted Long Room and Oaks Bar performance. Sports Sections have come in slightly ahead of budget. The Mzansi Super League provided some unbudgeted income through Ground Rental income, which was welcomed. Members Income from subscriptions was slightly under budget, but this was tempered by tight Central Services expenditure. We have also changed our security company and our Sports Centre caterers in the financial year under review, and we have received favourable feedback regarding both service providers. Cash flow management continues to be tightly controlled which will continue into the new financial year.  WPCC is a complex Club, with a large number of moving parts. The budget process is a complex process, with a diversified revenue and expenditure profile. Membership fees are an important component of the budget, accounting for roughly 32% of our revenue. With the above in mind, your Committee hereby gives notice of the annual subscription increase to be effective 1^st June 2019.  The by-category detail of the new subscription rates are detailed hereinafter.  The increase is necessary to help meet the Club’s budgeted income requirements for the coming year, and on average represents a 7% increase on the previous year’s subscriptions. This is down from last year’s increase of 9%.

Your committee spends a significant portion of their time endeavouring to increase the value of your membership. To this extent, we are looking to remove the additional gym membership charge and include the gym membership in to your general membership subscription.

Members are reminded that the gym is a basic gym, with relatively limited space and limited equipment. However, we feel that access to the gym – as part of your general membership fees – will provide additional benefit to your membership. Members are advised that we are currently investigating material improvements to the gym and dependent on the extent, cost and general improvement of the gym space, we may be required to reinstitute this gym levy. However, in the interim, the gym access will be included in your general membership subscription.

Members are reminded that subscriptions fall due on the 1^st June 2019. A statement of account will reach you by this date. A penalty of 10% will apply to late payment of annual fees. All sports playing members who no longer wish to participate in a particular section must please notify the Club, in writing, as soon as possible but no later than 31^st May 2019.  Active sports categories will be invoiced as at 1 June 2019.

The Club’s preferred method of contact is by email.  Regular communication is distributed by email, posted on all Club notice boards and is available on the Club website.  Please keep the Club Office informed of any changes to your personal details.

Members are reminded that an additional payment method is available via the MyClub Account app, available online. The Club encourages members to use this option, as this reduces the time spent on reconciling and allocating funds, as the payment will instantaneously be allocated to your membership profile.

We hope that you have had an enjoyable year at the Club and we thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely,

Duncan de Groot
CLUB CHAIRMAN

Click HERE to view the 2019/2020 Subscriptions and Sports Levies Table.

We are very pleased to advise that Dr Sherylle Calder PhD will be doing a Q & A with Dan Retief.  Sherylle has very kindly fitted an Oaks meeting into her very tight local and international schedule.

DATE : MONDAY 15 APRIL
VENUE: BOWLS CLUBHOUSE
TIME 17h00 FOR 18h00

Sherylle was a legendary Springbok hockey player, and then went into the world of Sports Science where she gained her PhD.
She is probably the world’s most prominent Eye Sports Scientist, and has founded the EyeGym at the Stellenbosch Institute for Sports Science. Her work with world sports elite, individuals and teams, is well known, and she has published worldwide on Hand – Eye coordination.

I am sure all our Oaks Members, and guests, will all help us have a very large gathering, and we should be in for another fascinating evening.

30 April 2018

Dear Member

The Club’s Financial Year End will be on us shortly, and this entails important processes of review, budgeting and planning in all sporting codes, within the Executive Committee portfolios and by our Management team and staff. The Indian and Australian cricket teams visited South Africa during the season, and I doubt many people will forget the Australian Test at Newlands. A visit by 2 of the Big 3 nations in one year does lead to welcome financial performance. However, this is tempered by the fact that Pakistan and Sri Lanka visits us in the January to March 2019 period, and they do not provide the same financial inflow. The cancellation of the Global T20 was also disappointing, as we had penciled this in to the budget, and had held a number of talks with the Cape Town Knight Riders management team. Despite the disappointment of the Global T20, we have had a successful year in most other aspects of the Club’s finances. In particular, we have made significant inroads into cost curtailment on some of the big-ticket items in our expense column, noticeably rates, electricity and water. The water de-ironisation project is on the brink of going live, meaning we will be significantly reducing our reliance on municipal potable water. The municipal feed will only be used for the basins, kitchens, and water fountains. The showers and toilets will be using borehole water, with the iron removed. A strong focus on electricity usage has reduced this cost as well, and we are actively investigating solar options, with our significant roof area providing opportunities. The Notice of the AGM, scheduled for Thursday, 23 August 2018 and the Annual Report for 2017/2018 will be distributed by the end of July 2018, detailing the Clubs’ financial position and current business strategies.

We had satisfying performances from both Bar Trading and Sports Section contributions. The Bar Trade at the Sports Centre was especially robust. Sports Sections have performed well, with most sections exceeding budget. Central Service Income is slightly down on budget, resulting in overall trading income slightly below budget. However, this was offset by tight Central Services expenditure, specifically with savings made in water, rates and electricity. Cash flow management continues to be tightly controlled. We will continue this into the new financial year.  WPCC is a complex Club, with myriad income and expenditure items. The budget process is a complex process, with a diversified revenue and expenditure profile. Membership fees are an important component of the budget, accounting for some 32% of our revenue. With the above in mind, your Committee hereby gives notice of the annual subscription increase to be effective 1^st June 2018.  The by-category detail of the new subscription rates are detailed hereinafter.  The increase is necessary to help meet the Club’s budgeted income requirements for the coming year, and on average represents a 9% increase on the previous year’s subscriptions. This is slightly up from last year’s increase of 7%. At the most expensive category, this equates to an additional R25 a month. However, we expect subdued cricket income as opposed to this year, and more importantly, we have some major expense items that we need to place focus on. Principal amongst this is security, where we are looking to completely overhaul our current security arrangement. This will roughly double our security bill and take it to over R1 million a year. However, we feel it is responsible of us to tighten security as much as possible. In addition, we will be actively pursuing other projects that will be of benefit to our members, and improving the service and offerings to members. We understand this increase is greater than CPI but is an important component to provide the base to improve the service and offerings to members. We still remain significantly cheaper than other Clubs in our surrounds.

Members are reminded that subscriptions fall due on the 1^st June 2018. A statement of account will reach you by this date. A penalty of 10% will apply to late payment of annual fees. All sports playing members who no longer wish to participate in a particular section please notify the Club, in writing, as soon as possible but no later than 31^st May 2018.  Active sports categories will be invoiced as at 1 June 2018.

The Club’s preferred method of contact is by email.  Regular communication is distributed by email, posted on all Club notice boards and is available on the Club website.  Please keep the Club Office informed of any changes to your personal details.

We hope that you have had an enjoyable year at the Club and we thank you for your continued support.

Yours sincerely,

Neil Strybis
CLUB CHAIRMAN

WPCC Subscriptions and Sports Levies 2018_2019